2015 gardening and some plans

…another great name for this post would be Plants That I’m Trying Not To Kill. Because seriously. I’m really bad at keeping plants alive. I don’t mean to kill them. It just kind of happens. I even managed to kill succulents (!!). Still, I really want to be good at gardening and maybe this year will be our year. So I thought I’d give you a little tour of our garden and let you in on some of our landscaping plans.

Currently, I have several pots of various herbs and edible items on our deck. I’d like to someday have raised flower beds containing an edible garden. Actually, I have a ton of awesome ideas for landscaping, but we only have the time and money do a little bit each year, so it’ll have to be a work in progress until we strike it rich!

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This year’s herbs include curly parsley, lemon thyme, basil, cilantro (which does not grow well in these parts- but I couldn’t resist because I LOVE cilantro!) and chives. I picked up a spicy mescalin mix, arugula and rainbow chard because I love all of those and even grabbed some carrots on a whim. My dear friend Erica, who is a gardening-extraordinaire, and usually provides delicious veggies from her garden), is moving to Austin in a couple weeks. We’re really sad about this for a variety of reasons which I won’t bore you with. She has passed on one of her strawberry plants to me and the chives are from her as well. I’m going to try extra hard to keep these things alive in her honor.

Last year we planted a slew of Daylilies and and a couple of hydrangea bushed on the east facing side of our home (hydrangeas are my favorite). So far so good on both of those, so we’ll see how this year goes.

We also planted some Tickweed and Salvia in our small front garden bed. It seems that one of them has not popped up this year, so we will see if I need to pick up one new on to replace the missing plant.

I normally put annuals into the two posts by my front door, but since I’m so very good at killing them I thought I’d try my hand at some lavender. In the old flower bed, I actually had one lavender plant which I did a decent job of keeping alive. I can’t for the life of me figure out why I didn’t replant it somewhere else. While I’m not sure if lavender is meant to be in pots, I figure I can bring the plants in during the winter.

While I love the dogwood tree in the front of our home, I am really not a fan of those huge eyesore bushes. Since we’re working so hard on the back yard this year, I can’t imagine we’ll get to those front bushes this year, but in the years to come, I plant to remove those and explore some prettier options to fill that space.

We are officially planning on putting in a simple paver patio and have begun digging up the dirt piles that were left back there when J removed the koi pond last year. We’ve also begun digging out a flower bed around the deck. I’d like to find some nice perennials and possibly some raspberry bushes to plant around this area. The other side of the house has a few wild trees that we need to remove (we’re in the process of pricing out a larger tree removal as well) and a large amount of Black Eyed Susans. I’m considering filling in the rest of the side with Black Eyed Susans since they’re so pretty and the upkeep is simple.

Does anyone have any good recommendation of perennials to plant in the boarder around our deck? It gets part sun.

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34 Comments

May 15, 2015 at 10:45 am
Awesome plants! I love gardening but haven't had a backyard in years. We do the whole potted plants thing on our large balcony though and I can't wait to get some.
My husband has a green thumb, I do not, but the perennials we've had a lot of success with before were purple cone flowers, black eyed susans and lilies.
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May 15, 2015 at 10:58 am
Your garden looks amazing. :) I'm with you on it's hard not to kill stuff, but I think this is your year! :) Yippie!
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May 15, 2015 at 11:55 am
I am notorious for killing my plants too. I have done well this year but I have sent quite a few succulents and houseplants straight to Plant Heaven. Looks like you're doing great! I'm not sure what does well in partial sun but we had some foxtail ferns that we absolutely loved. They have such a cool look and texture to them and they add a lot of interest to the landscaping. Unfortunately we forgot to water ours and they didn't make it...
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May 15, 2015 at 12:23 pm
Well you're certainly farther along in your planting than I am. Here in California we have such a drought to contend with. Water is so scarce. Except today it's raining. Not nearly enough to help though. Have fun with your project, looks terrific so far.
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May 15, 2015 at 12:50 pm
The last time I planted something was in botany class in the 7th grade... I don't think any of my plants survived or grew for that matter! I really want to start a garden, but I'm scared! I was going to start with tomato plants on my deck, but I just haven't had the time to do it. I would love to be able to make my own organic produce in the summer!
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May 15, 2015 at 1:03 pm
I get scared every year and for the most part I still kill everything , but so far so good this year. Just do it! Worst case, you kill it and try again next year, best case you get delicious fresh veggies and fruits to eat. Good luck and let me know how it goes :)

May 15, 2015 at 2:39 pm
You're containers look great! Love all the green. Looks like you are doing great this season.
-Carole
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May 15, 2015 at 6:11 pm
I sound exactly like you...I want to be great at gardening but I end up killing everything! I still try though :) We just bought a great place which comes complete with the most beautiful edible garden - I am so excited about moving in but so afraid of killing it all at the same time! Thanks for sharing
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May 15, 2015 at 6:54 pm
Sounds like you're going to have a great garden this year! We have a lot of success with hostas in our partial sun areas, they may be a possibility for your deck border :)
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May 15, 2015 at 9:51 pm
Thank you! My mom and I were just talking about Hostas, because she wants to split some of hers and give them to me (and I was all "Ooooh, free plants, yes of course!" Free plants are definitely my favorite kind.

May 19, 2015 at 7:37 pm
Hahah "plants I am trying not to kill". Lol that would be an awesome title. :D
I can tell you it is impossible to kill Day Lilies. I have tons and they survived my brown thumb. They even stayed alive for 2 months un-potted, uprooted and thrown to a brown bucket (!)
The bushes you hate? I wish I had a few to cover parts of the cement house support on my eastern side. They take no care (except some trimming maybe?).
Suggestions for part sun that need little care: hostas, small boxwoods. I don't know what orientation it has, I am guessing north or east (for the part sun)? And what kind of vegetation do you want? Low maintenance or explosions of flowers?
Rhododendrons do great at semi shadow areas.
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May 20, 2015 at 9:29 am
Yes, the Day Lilies on the side of our house are awesome but I want to mix it up a bit.
Thank you for the recommendations, I'll definitely look into those. The back of our house faces north. Low maintenance is probably a good idea, but I'd love some color back there. I'd also like some edibles, but I'm not sure how that would work, as we back up to a woods.

September 10, 2015 at 5:43 am
I hope your plans will come to a reality. Great things come in small beginnings. You are on the right track keep your focus on your plan. I'm excited what will be the outcome in the future. Good luck!

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